Hey guys...well I think I may be a turtle in the making. I'm glad you have an area for this because it makes me feel like others have the same problems. Today is my 2 week mark on induction and I have lost 6lbs...I was getting depressed because I was looking at other folks saying they lost like 10 or 15 lbs the first two weeks and thinking what's wrong with me? One of my teacher friends who knows I am doing this laughed at me this morning. She put it into perspective. She said...did you ever lose 6lbs in 2 weeks doing low fat? Well no I didn't...Point was taken. I am concerned that my ketostix seem to turn only a small amount and sometimes not at all. I really have been good about my induction. I have been reading how certain foods can derail you..I am beginning to think it is the green beans I ate twice this week. I didn't realize they had as many carbs as they did. Anyways I am gonna keep going. 173 was the plateau I seemed to have been stuck at during conventional dieting and it may be the same plateau I'll have on Atkins.

hi lyndagayle. No, sorry, you're not a turtle! (But you can visit us here any time you like! )

Typical weight loss pattern on LC:

Weeks 1-2: -10% of amount to lose
Weeks 3-4: very little lost; maybe even a pound or two gained
Weeks 5-X [5-15 pounds from goal]: whatever the person's loss rate will be. This is when you know if you're a turtle or not. If you're cheating once a week, you can't claim turtlehood! You might lose for two weeks, nothing for two weeks--it's the average per week loss that is 'your rate'
Last 5-15 pounds: "are these darned pounds EVER going to come off?" (ok, not a rate, but that's the experience.)

So...10% for you would be 4 pounds. Not only are you not a turtle, you're fast!

Check the beginning weights of those who lose 10-20 pounds in two weeks--they tend to be 100 or more pounds overweight. Or they're men. (might as well be a different species than women, the way they lose!) Or, worst of all, they were terribly bloated (one cannot lose more than 2 pounds of fat per week and probably not that much--anything else lost is water weight) and so probably severely hyperinsulimic with all the attendant health risks--not something to wish for!

kewl..that makes me feel better...I was afraid it was really gonna be hard for me. My biggest fear is that the weight I am now is a place I have often plateaued at before. I really will have to watch myself to get through it.